


The Star Child's Deception

by RedDragon30000



Series: The Space Mom series [3]
Category: Warframe
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:01:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29641308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedDragon30000/pseuds/RedDragon30000
Summary: Wanting to do as many missions as she can in order to upgrade her Volt into a Prime, the Operator uses the power of the Void to hide her fatigue. Unfortunately, an outburst of temper causes exposure, and the Tenno must face the consequences.
Series: The Space Mom series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2173509
Kudos: 6





	The Star Child's Deception

With a small amount of difficulty, Red attempted to disguise the trembling of her legs as she left her living quarters. The last thing she needed right now was Ordis making a fuss, as he sometimes did. She had more trouble attempting to ignore the pounding migraine that refused to vacate her throbbing head, and had been in residence a few days now.

At least she had managed to tamper with her bio-signs and mask her true appearance. It seemed to be working, as neither Ordis or the Lotus had commented on them. It was not a permanent solution, but it would be enough until she got what she needed. Creating an illusion with the Void had been tricky, but she had held it up so far.

Ever since Awakening, she had determined to become stronger, so that she could defeat the Stalker if she ever encountered him again. Since her Volt had protected her so well, she wanted to upgrade him into his Prime form, so that she would have the strength she craved.

Unfortunately, these parts were both expensive, and needed a lot of resources in order to be build. This meant that she needed to do a great many missions, often back-to-back so that she got what she needed as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, she hadn’t anticipated how much all these missions would drain her.

When the Lotus had commented last week on all the missions she had been doing, Red quickly switched to Syndicate missions, which were not so easily tracked. She had done them for Cephalon Simaris and the Entrati family, as she’d been worried that Eudico and Konzu would report mission numbers to the Lotus is she did too much in Cetus or Fortuna.

Thankfully, Simaris had merely commented that her skills as a Hunter were improving, and Mother had thanked her for recovering so many resource caches on Deimos.

Red stopped to check her Foundry, then grimaced and looked up from the Foundry interface as her vision began to grey at the edges. Clutching the edge of the Foundry console, she closed her eyes and attempted to master herself.

It was just her luck that Ordis happened to notice.

“Operator? Are you alright? You look tired.”

Opening her eyes hastily, Red snapped:

“I’m fine! Don’t get your systems in a twist!”

Ordinarily, Ordis would have backed off, knowing that it was no use talking with his Operator in this mood. However, he had been both concerned and suspicious for a couple of days now, and kept prodding.

“Hmmm…You don’t _look_ fine to me.”

Red gritted her teeth, frustrated. The illusion on her appearance must be unravelling. She strengthened it, the ever-present orange glow in her irises intensifying. Unfortunately for the Tenno, her action caught the wrong kind of attention.

“ _Tenno? Are you alright? I just detected a large spike in Void energy._ ”

The Lotus, sounding concerned over the Orbiter’s comms system.

Red felt very much like throwing something.

_Why? Why now? Why can’t my omnipresent mother monitor my siblings instead?_

Eyes narrowing, she spat:

“I’m fine! Can’t you let me get back to my Foundry in peace?”

She growled as the Lotus responded:

“ _Not just yet, Tenno. I am detecting a build-up of anomalous readings in your Orbiter. I want to make sure they pose no threat to you._ ”

There was a note of warning in the voice of the Lotus now, an indication that there would be consequences if the Tenno continued to push her any further. Red had ignored that tone of voice only once, and been subject to a lengthy scorching lecture and confinement in her Orbiter for a week.

Unfortunately for her self-control, Ordis chose that moment to make his own contribution.

“A wise precaution, Lotus. Operator, are you sure the Void isn’t causing-“

At this point Red’s grip on her temper and the Void shattered.

“Leave me alone!”

A mass of void energy crackled around her, then lashed out, discharging into the wall and ceiling near the Tenno. The lights flickered and the Orbiter shook slightly as the energy discharged through the ship and out of the external bulkhead.

Ordis was the first person to break the silence.

“My word! Operator, you look _awful_!”

Red snarled wordlessly at him, clutching the console more tightly as she struggled not to slump with the exhaustion coating a body. It was a struggle she was rapidly losing.

“ _I concur, Ordis. Yet a Void discharge would not cause such a dramatic physical reaction. There must be something else in play, bio-signs have been consistently normal-_ “

The Lotus suddenly cut herself off as she began realising the answer to the puzzle before her. The ominous silence caused Red’s eyes to widen in horror.

_Oh stars, she’s gonna find out! She’s gonna find ouuut!_

Red whimpered and shut her eyes as a metaphorical storm broke over her head.

“ _Tenno Red,_ did you alter your bio-signs?!”

The voice of the Lotus was now as deadly as a thrown kunai.

_I’m so screwed._

Red didn’t answer verbally, she wasn’t sure if she could. She knew she there was no point hiding anything she had done, the Lotus would find out now, or later on. Keeping her eyes on her Foundry, she nodded.

There was a sharp intake of breath over the comms system. Then the Lotus hissed:

“ _Did you also use the Void to mask your appearance?_ ”

Red nodded again. Another angry inhale. The Lotus growled:

“ _That does it, I’m coming to sort this out. Child of mine, get yourself into your living quarters and don’t dare take a step out of them!_ ”

Red nodded meekly. She was past fighting her mother’s authority. She was too tired t do anything but obey. Seeing that she would no longer have to worry about her child’s disobedience, the Lotus addressed her next remarks to Ordis.

“ _Look after your Operator until I get there. I know you are angry at her deception, but leave the consequences to me._ ”

“As you wish, Lotus.”

There was a burst of static as the comms system shut down. In a voice that was deeper than usual because of the anger he no longer concealed, Ordis stated:

“ **Better do as she said, Operator!** ”

Holding onto the wall for support, Red made her way slowly into her living quarters. Making her way down to the couch, she was very glad to drop down onto it, no longer having to support her own weight.

Pulling her favourite kubrow floof from under her pillow, Red sniffled and buried her face in the soft toy.

She knew the Lotus would be here soon and making her displeasure known. She honestly didn’t care now _what_ the Lotus did, as long as she could sleep afterwards.

She didn’t have long to wait. Only a quarter of an hour later, she heard the door of her living quarters open and soft, purposeful footsteps came towards her. Red dropped her floof back on the couch and dragged her eyes up the lock her gaze with the helmet of the Lotus.

In a silence charged with an anger that was almost palpable, the Lotus suddenly gripped Red by the arm, pulled her to her feet, and swatted her hard on the backside. She set her back down on the couch just as quickly, causing a whimper and a bowed head.

The Lotus asked a single question, in a voice made tight with anger and worry.

“ _Why, Red? Why this horrible deception_?”

Her voice choked with approaching tears, Red explained:

“I wanted to make my Volt a Prime, so I could defeat the Stalker if he came after me again. I needed so much for it, so I started doing loads of missions. I did so much all at once. Part of me was saying to slow down, but I didn’t listen. I knew you and Ordis w-would s-stop me when you r-realised w-what I…”

Red stopped, now too choked up to continue, her hands clenching together. The Lotus finished her Tenno’s narrative and now sounded more weary than angry.

“ _So you used the Void to alter your bio-readings and mask your appearance. My foolish child, do you think you must always struggle alone? I am your_ mother _! I will always help you, as will your friends. Next time, you need to_ tell someone _when you are struggling. Can you do that for me Tenno?_ ”

Red nodded, a tear running down her face to splash onto the floor. The Lotus wanted nothing more than to embrace her Tenno, to dissipate the aura of misery and unhappiness that hung around her child’s bowed shoulders like a cloak.

However, she had a duty to perform first, to issue consequences for what the Tenno had done. She said sternly:

“ _Red, look at me._ ”

The Tenno did so, reluctantly.

“ _Tenno Red, you are hereby confined to your Orbiter for two weeks. You are not to disembark unless the ship needs repairs or unless I order you to do so. You are not allowed on any missions. You will complete a live transmission with me every evening before you sleep, so that I know you are not deceiving me further. Is that clear?_ ”

Her eyes filling with tears, Red nodded again. This time, the Lotus didn’t hesitate. Seating herself on the couch, she wordlessly opened her arms. The Tenno fell against her mother’s shoulder, wailing helplessly as the misery that had been building for the past few days broke upon her like a wave.

Bringing her arms around Red, the Lotus conversed softly with Ordis.

“ _I have determined your Operator’s punishment; I will transmit the details to you soon. I know you likely wish to have words with her yourself, but you must wait until she has recovered enough to listen to you_.”

At Ordis’ murmured affirmative, the Lotus absently rocked her Tenno slightly as she slipped into sleep against her shoulder. She loved her daughter, but could tell she would be a handful.


End file.
